


Whumptober Day 20 - Trembling

by TexdoesHalo



Series: Whumptober - 2019 [19]
Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: AU where everything went okay, Comfort, Comfort your boy Jack, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fear, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Near Death, Night Terrors, Nightmares, Panic Attacks, Poor Rhys, Rhys still has nightmares though, Scared Rhys, Sobbing, Strangulation, Trembling, Whump, Whumptober, Whumptober 2019, restrained, soft Jack
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-21
Updated: 2019-10-21
Packaged: 2020-12-27 08:55:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21116096
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TexdoesHalo/pseuds/TexdoesHalo
Summary: Everything turned out okay. Rhys convinced Jack to back down, Helios didn’t crash, Vallory got her ass-kicked and Gortys got all the help she needed the first time.So why was Rhys plagued with dreams of it all going wrong?





	Whumptober Day 20 - Trembling

It started as just some twitching of his fingers, then his breathing got panicky, he started writhing in the sheets, a cold sweat broke out. In less than a minute Rhys was trapped in the grasp of a full-on night terror.

Fear flashed through him, restraints clamping down on his wrists as he thrashed, begging, pleading for Jack to let him go. Saw blades and lasers crept closer and closer, bringing with them the very real promise of horrible pain and eventual death.

He screamed, fighting and fighting until he broke free, tumbling out of the gaudy yellow chair. The world shifted rapidly around the terrified cyborg, sending him into a downward spiral that ended with a hard slam into torn metal.

Pushing himself up with a groan, Rhys shook his head and looked up, mouth hanging open and eyes flying wide as he took in the burning wreckage of Helios.  _ What the hell is- _

“You’re not getting out of this alive, Rhysie.”

Rhys spun and barely had a heartbeat to recognize the glowing blue of Jack’s hologram before his own cybernetic hand was wrapped around his throat. No, it wasn’t his anymore, it was Jack’s to use, and he was currently using it to squeeze the life out of poor Rhys.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, Rhys recognized the feeling of satin sheets tangling around his legs as he twisted and turned, that same cybernetic hand on his sleeping throat. Distantly he heard someone calling for him to wake up, but the pressure on his throat dragged him back into his dream.

The malicious AI laughed as he stood over Rhys, the helpless man’s knees hitting the ground with a hard thud. Darkness crept in at the edges of his vision, that laugh never-ending, following him down as the dark swallowed him whole…

“RHYS!!”

Torn out of the dark, Rhys shot up with a desperate gasp, frantically pulling air back into his lungs. Chest heaving for breath, his eyes darted around the room, settling on the terrified face of Jack. The man’s eyes were wide, staring at Rhys as his whole body shook, hands, wait- _ hand _ , trembling uncontrollably.

His cybernetic arm had been tossed aside, having been disconnected by Jack to stop it from strangling Rhys to death. A big hand stroked Rhys’ cheek, cupping his chin to turn his head from side to side, concerned eyes inspecting the abused flesh of the cyborg’s throat.

“Rhys...are you okay?”

Gazes meeting again, Rhys and Jack stared at each other silently, the former giving a tiny nod, but his fragile calm didn’t last long, tears bursting free with a hiccuped sob. Slumping into the bigger man’s arms, Rhys curled up against Jack’s broad, warm chest, trembling arm clinging to his waist.

A kiss was pressed to his messy bedhead, a soft tune filling the air, Jack humming softly as he held Rhys close, gently rocking the shaken man. “It’s okay, kiddo...I’ve got ya…”

  
  


“...I got ya, Rhysie…”

**Author's Note:**

> This one is pretty short but I like it. Hope y'all do too!
> 
> Kudos and comments keep the motivation wheels spinning~


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